Reasons Behind Weight Gain

Being fat is a common condition, especially where food supplies are plentiful and lifestyles are sedentary. If you start taking in more calories than usual or cut back on exercise, you wouldn't be surprised if the numbers on the scale crept higher. But what if you're doing everything to stay on the normal weight range but your weight still goes up? LetÂ’s look into the reasons why youÂ’re still gaining weight.

Being fat is a common condition, especially where food supplies are plentiful and lifestyles are sedentary. If you start taking in more calories than usual or cut back on exercise, you wouldn't be surprised if the numbers on the scale crept higher. But what if you're doing everything to stay on the normal weight range but your weight still goes up? Let’s look into the reasons why you’re still gaining weight.

There are two issues. The first is intuitive: If you're up late, the odds are greater that you're doing some late-night snacking, which will increase your calorie intake. The other reason involves what's going on biochemically when you're sleep deprived. Hormones that affect appetite take over, making you hungrier the next morning. These hormones also make you feel not as full after eating.

When life's demands get too intense, our bodies go into survival mode: Cortisol, the "stress hormone," is secreted, which causes an increase in appetite. And then of course, we may reach for high-calorie comfort foods in times of stress as well. This combination is a perfect breeding ground for weight gain.

If your thyroid (the butterfly-shaped gland in the front of your neck) is not making enough thyroid hormone, you're probably feeling tired, weak, cold, and gaining weight. Without enough thyroid hormone, the metabolism slows, making weight gain more likely. Even a thyroid functioning at the lower end of the normal range might cause weight gain. Treating hypothyroidism with medication may reverse some of the weight gain.

Aging slows the metabolism, so you burn fewer calories, and any changes in lifestyle (e.g. exercising less) play a role. But where you gain weight may be related to menopause, with fat accumulating around your waist, not around your hips and thighs.

Cushing syndrome, a condition in which you're exposed to too much of the hormone cortisol, which in turn causes the weight gain and other abnormalities. Cushing’s syndrome can occur if you take a corticosteroid for a condition such as asthma, arthritis, or lupus. It can also occur when your adrenal glands produce too much of the hormone. Weight gain may be most prominent around the face, neck or upper back, or waist.

PCOS is a common hormonal problem in women of childbearing age. Most women with PCOS grow many small cysts on their ovaries. The condition leads to hormone imbalances that affect a woman's menstrual cycle and can lead to excessive body hair and acne. Women with this condition are resistant to insulin, which may cause weight gain. The weight tends to collect around the abdomen, putting women at greater risk for heart disease.

If you do gain weight don't stop taking any medications without first consulting your doctor. Recognize the importance of the drug you're taking. It may be critical to your health. And don't compare yourself to other people taking the same drug. Not all people have the same side effects on the same drug. Even if one drug caused someone else to lose weight, the same might not be true for you. Consult your doctor.

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